Before During and After.....

........One of the happiest day of my life.  The day I became Mrs. Berger.  But before that there was so much to do.  It was daunting to even think about it.  And looking at all the things that got done, well, it's amazing we even lived through it!

When we last wrote, it was the end of June and we had hosted a graduation party for Max and Haley.  Soon after was Ruben's 9th birthday on July 2.  We celebrated with cake and candles and the usual hoopla.  See Em and Ru's blog  (http://emnru.blogspot.com/) for more details, but here are some pictures:

Lighting the candles

enjoying the cake

Also on the 2nd, Emily, Betsy and I did tie-dye.  It was exhausting but fun and the results were great.  Even the worst tie-dye is wonderful

First tie, then dye, then wait, then rinse and rinse and rinse and rinse again.

Then it was the 4th of July.  Max got in the spirit!

Captain America

We enjoyed going to the Creswell celebration for FFA barbequed chicken, and later, went to CG to see Phredd play and it seemed like we had descended into firework hell.....it was erupting all around us.  Loud, smokey and fun!

On July 7th it was my 61st birthday.  We celebrated with cake, candles and a trip to the lake with Neil and Carol at sunset.  We all enjoyed the serenity and the bats that appeared at dusk.  They darted back and forth catching bugs.  My reassurance to Jeff that they wouldn't hit us due to their superior radar was nullified when one hit the boat.  Ooops!

A lovely end to my birthday

On the 10th of July, we went camping at Baker Bay with Emily and Ruben for a couple of nights. What a wonderful time we had.  Playing in the water, sitting around the campfire, hanging out in the boat, eating delicious food.   Emily wrote about in on her blog, so check out her impressions and pictures (I forgot my camera). Jeff was totally shocked when I told him we were going camping.  He couldn't believe that with all the stuff we had yet to do for the wedding and his moving that we could take the time for camping.  But he agreed it was worth it.  So relaxing and so nice to be close to home.

Throughout all these activities, Jeff and I worked hard to finish the remodel of the guest room and upstairs bathroom.  We touched up paint, put back fixtures, hung pictures and curtains, and meanwhile, I was also sorting and de-junking Ruben's room.  Such a huge project.  I took at least 3 loads to goodwill, stored stuff in the shop, and it was amazing what came to light.  Here is a picture of the completed guest room:

On Friday the 13th, Jeff and I went to spend our last night in his apartment on the McKenzie.  We took everything we thought we needed to get him moved, and invited Neil and Carol to come over and say one last goodbye to the river.  Jeff's wonderful apartment had provided respite to us both.  Most of the time I would spend at least 2 nights a week there.  I knew Jeff had mixed feelings about leaving.  It was a big step to move in with me, especially having to leave such a wonderful setting.

Picnic by the water

Sunset on the McKenzie

Jeff and his favorite body of water

On Saturday, Jeff expected to be able to use a trailer that his landlord had.  But it turned out to not be available.  Just when we were resigning ourselves to making at least 3 trips in the truck, Neil offered us the use of his work trailer.  What a relief.  One trip is sure better than three.  I frantically packed up the kitchen and bathroom, while Jeff's neighbors hauled furniture and boxes down the narrow stairs.  By the time Neil got there with his truck and trailer, our truck was packed, and everything else was ready to be loaded.  It was wonderful to be following Neil down the freeway and know that we would be living together at last.  But the challenge of integrating Jeff's stuff with mine and the knowledge that the wedding was only one week away was daunting.  Still, it was a momentous moment for me.

So that is the "before".  That next week was a flurry of activity with preparations for the wedding.  But more on that in a future post.